


take me to your river (i wanna go)

by strawberrv



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27913714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrv/pseuds/strawberrv
Summary: Thanatos shakes off his touch, only to replace it with his own, covering the injury with his palm. “An exchange. And how many deals withChaoshave you made, exactly, Zagreus? What else have you thrown away to get just a little bit farther?! You are not made of sacrifice, your body is not — your bones are not currency, Zag, please tell me you understand this.”
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 490





	take me to your river (i wanna go)

**Author's Note:**

> u know..... sometimes the parentheses in the title just feel RIGHT.   
> anyway this is just a random lil thing because i got feelings about thanzag from all the art of them in the styx :///  
> also, who decided it should be called thanzag,, i like zagnatos better. u can get other controversial hot takes like that on my twt, linked below.

“Heard you needed help,” Thanatos lies. He’d heard no such thing, and in fact had been listening to Zagreus’s movements around the Tartarus chambers all day-or-night. He’s greeting Zagreus in Asphodel, on one of the many islands mercifully left dry by the Phlegethon. It’s his fifty-first attempt, and Zagreus looks… worn. A roguish smile splits his face once his gaze lands on Thanatos, though, glow from his apparition just fading.

There’s something, a word, a feeling, on Thanatos’s tongue, but they’re surrounded by wretches, time run out. Thanatos moves automatically, but there’s a distinct lack of noise from behind him. He hears Zagreus swinging Stygius here and there, clanging of metal on bone, but it’s intermittent — weak. Thanatos frowns and turns, dispelling a Dracon behind him with a curl of his fingers. Zagreus is mid-swing, but something’s wrong. His left arm is held about his chest, hand pressed tightly to his right side. He swings Stygius with his other, but even lifting the great blade seems like it’s causing him pain. Their usual faux-competition forgotten, Thanatos dispels the rest of the wretches with a wave of his hand. Zagreus’s sword hits the ground, half-buried in ash and dirt, and Zagreus himself stumbles, momentum pushing him forward. He frees Stygius with a grunt, and turns, brow furrowed.

“What’s this all about, Than? Took you for a better sport than that — and some would call that _cheating,_ in fact, and—”

“What’s wrong,” says Thanatos, leaving no more room for bickering. 

Zagreus blinks, catching himself on one burning foot behind him, thrown off balance once again by Thanatos’s words.

He makes a face, “Nothing’s wrong, Than! Little hot, I s’pose.” His tone curls, teasing. Thanatos feels his frown deepen. He looks at Zagreus’s hand, still pressed to his side, his elbow, leant on Stygius’s hilt, aiming for casual, missing by a field and landing squarely at _obviously in pain._

Thanatos strides over, wrenches Zagreus’s hand away to reveal the deep scrape, bruise purpling the flesh already. If he had to guess, broken ribs — at least three. Why the fuck isn’t he healing? Why the fuck is he—

“Chaos curse,” he guesses — Zagreus’s wrinkled nose confirms. 

“Something about — temporary mortality, uh, physical pain intensified — it’s nothing, Than, I’m still a god, they can’t take that away. And once it wears off, Stygius will be able to cut down these wretches far easier.”

Thanatos doesn’t know what his face is doing, but Zagreus puts a hand on his shoulder, as if to placate. _“Than,_ it’s nothing. Look, you’re running out of time, anyway; father will notice your absence.”

Thanatos shakes off his touch, only to replace it with his own, covering the injury with his palm. “An exchange. And how many deals with _Chaos_ have you made, exactly, Zagreus? What else have you thrown away to get just a little bit farther?! You are not made of sacrifice, your body is not — your bones are not currency, Zag, please tell me you understand this.”

Zagreus lists to the side, and Thanatos drops his scythe to catch his arm. Zagreus rolls his eyes, but clutches at Thanatos’s forearm with something like desperation. “I know. I know that, Than. But I—”

“But clearly you don’t. Your actions, your attitude — everything has changed since you began this blasted venture, Zagreus! What else will you give, what more of yourself can you offer as oblation to the Olympians? Would you give your immortality — permanently, this time? Would you really have me—”

He cuts himself off, clenching his jaw to keep the words in. _Would you really have me deal you death, like any other mortal? Would you have me mourn in the corner like Achilles, trying to hold onto memories? Would you have me beg your father for your place in Elysium? I would. I would go to my knees._

He doesn’t realize that he’s been leaving the ground, robes billowing around him in agitation, until Zagreus’s hands, careful, press at his forearms. Thanatos drops himself, still a half-head taller. Zagreus catches his eyes, again, careful.

“I wouldn’t,” he says. “I wouldn’t.”

“Well good,” Thanatos huffs, not letting go where they’re holding each other.

“Now,” Zagreus says quietly, “I think we both know I’m not vanquishing the Bone Hydra like this,” he laughs a little. Thanatos presses his lips together.

“And I’m tired, Than.” The admission is small, ashamed. Thanatos squeezes his arm.

“Let’s go home, then.”

As they fly down to the Styx, Zagreus makes up various stories to tell the House about how he died.

“Standing in magma — definitely done that before. Barge of death? No, that’s how I went last time; it’d be suspicious.”

Thanatos holds him more securely against his chest. They both know that it’ll show up the same on Hypnos’s scroll, anyway, that they’ll just have to bribe a shade in administration to redact it later, regardless, but Zagreus has always liked to fill the silence. His red blood stains his lips like wine, mixes with the cool waters of the Styx as Thanatos lays him down in it. 

“Oh — darkness, I’ve never been awake for this part, I s’ppose,” he murmurs, shivering in Thanatos’s grip. His hand moves, dripping red Styx, grabs at Thanatos until he finds his palm to meet him. Their fingers entwined, Thanatos starts walking them downriver.

“It’ll be quick — mortals say not unlike falling asleep.”

Zagreus chuckles, teeth chattering. “Y-you know I hate sleeping, Than.” Thanatos tightens his grip.

“You know I won’t, right,” Zagreus says, after a few moments.

“Won’t what?” Thanatos asks, focusing on the current of the Styx.

“Won’t leave you.”

Thanatos looks down, to find Zagreus’s mis-matched eyes on him, half-closed, the rest of him paling quickly. 

“Even if I — _when_ I make it out I…” eyelids fluttering, he struggles to focus, but he brings his other hand to clasp around both of theirs, swallowing.

“I’ll find my way back.” Thanatos stops walking. Zagreus fades fast after he gets those words out, and then Thanatos is standing in the Styx with a corpse. Reluctantly, slowly, he lets go, and lets the river take his god. 

Then, he takes off. He needs to have a word with Chaos about certain kinds of transactions.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! lmk what u thought :-)
> 
> you can find me on twitter:  
> [main](https://twitter.com/lookslikerain) [fic acc](https://twitter.com/rouxberrv)


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